LIBERALS TO ESPINO: 

FACE THE CHARGES, STOP BLAMING OTHERS

            The Liberal Party in Pangasinan today asked Gov. Amado Espino to prepare a solid legal defense rather than blame his political rivals for the series of criminal charges filed against him in connection with his alleged involvement in murder and jueteng operations.

             “The charges against Gov. Espino are serious and may land him in jail if found guilty. He better prepare a solid legal defense or he may find himself behind bars,” said LP spokesman and former Pangasinan Vice Governor Oscar Lambino said.

Atty. Bodie Pulido, the LP's congressional candidate for Pangasinan's First District, advised Gov. Espino to hire a better lawyer who spends more time in keeping clients out of jail than in holding expensive press conferences just to look good before the media.

            “The governor should be man enough to face the charges. He should stop blaming politics or his political rivals for the crimes attributed to him,” he added.

            Pulido noted that it has become a habit for Gov. Espino to blame politics every time law enforcement agencies close in on him and find merits to file charges for crimes he allegedly committed while in office.

            “The good governor is getting predictable. Every time law enforcers charge him for his sins of the past, his stooges hold a press conference the following day and blame politics for the court cases,” Pulido said.

            “Worse, instead of defending the governor in court, his lawyers immediately scout for false witnesses to file trumped-up counter-charges against his gubernatorial rival,” he pointed out.

            Last week, the National Bureau of the Investigation (NBI) filed a murder case against Gov. Espino, Rep. Jesus “Boyong” Celeste and newspaper publisher Jaime Aquino after a witness tagged them as masterminds in the killing of their partymate Mayor Ruperto Martinez of Infanta last December.

            The witness, a 16-year-old son of Aquino, told NBI investigators that he was present when the trio held a meeting with a gunman who were allegedly hired by Gov. Espino and Rep. Celeste to kill Martinez.

            The governor and the congressman allegedly ordered the killing of Martinez after the mayor learned of their involvement in the illegal trade of a mineral called “itim na bato,” apparently referring to nickel being mined in Zambales and smuggled out of Infanta port.

            The teenage witness also told probers that Gov. Espino masterminded the killings of Jovencia Gasmin, barangay kagawad of San Juan, Alcala, and Bayambang Councilor Nato Sabangan last year.

            Gasmin, a leader of an environmentalist group in Pangasinan, was shot to death by gunmen while scouting for signatories to a petition against illegal quarrying operations in Alcala.

            Last December, two witnesses also surfaced and pointed to Gov. Espino as the brain behind jueteng operations in Pangasinan.

            Mayor Ric Orduna of Bugallon, a political lieutenant and trusted ally of Gov. Espino, said he was the one assigned by Gov. Espino to collect money from jueteng bet collectors on the governor’s behalf.

            Orduna has filed plunder charges against Gov. Espino before the Office of the Ombudsman, claiming that the governor pocketed more than P900 million from proceeds of jueteng operations in Pangasinan.

            His statements were corroborated by Fernando Alimagno, alias Boy Bata, who is one of the biggest gambling lords in Pangasinan and Southern Tagalog. Alimagno is currently running as mayoral candidate in Candelaria, Quezon, under the banner of PDP-Laban.

NBI: Witness vs. Espino, Celeste ‘very credible’

          The witness of the National Bureau of Investigation in the murder case it filed against Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and first district Rep. Jesus "Boying" Celeste for allegedly masterminding the killing of Infanta Mayor Ruperto Martinez “is very credible.”

          “According to the NBI, very credible po yong witness,” Justice Secretary Leila De Lima said in an interview with ANC. The case was filed before the Department of Justice.

          Martinez was shot to death by two motorcycle-riding gunmen in front of his house at Barangay Cato in Infanta last December 15.

          Currently detained at the Pangasinan Provincial Jail in Lingayen, the alleged assailants, Ricardo "Kardo" Legarda and Richard Manuel, were supposed bodyguards of Celeste.

           “Ang triggermen diyan ay nakakulong na at kinasuhan na, hindi alam dati kung sino yong mga mastermind, and this 16 year old provided the answer,” De Lima added.

          The witness identified as Justin Aquino alleged that respondents planned Martinez's murder with his father, Jaime, in a meeting a­t a beach resort in Bolinao, Pangasinan, reportedly owned by Celeste.

          Celeste denied the accusations while Espino’s camp said that they cannot yet issue any statement in reaction to the accusation until they receive a copy of the complaint.

          The witness, however, said he heard the governor say “Mayor Martinez should be killed in order to prevent him from implicating us with respect to itim na bato,” supposedly referring to the controversial mining pier project in the province.

          In the same meeting, Celeste allegedly introduced a man identified as a certain “Kardo” who was tasked to kill the mayor.

          He said he saw Celeste meet with Kardo again in the same place on December 14 last year, a day before Martinez was shot dead in his residential compound in Brgy. Cato.

          “I heard Congressman Celeste telling Kardo to ‘go to Mayor Martinez in Infanta to check if he is already dead or still alive,” the witness recalled in Ilocano.

          Last year, Governor Espino was also accused of protecting jueteng operations, allegedly pocketing almost a billion peso in jueteng payola. A plunder case was filed against him by his former ally Bugallon Mayor Ricardo Orduña.

          Meanwhile, Liberal Party officials in Pangasinan said in a formal statement that if proven guilty, Espino and Celeste should be jailed and pay for their crimes.

          “They should be meted out the maximum penalty when found guilty (with the murder of Martinez),” said Oscar Lambino, former vice governor and LP-Pangasinan spokesman.

Agbayani: I did not withdraw my support to Braganza

Team PNOY Pangasinan 2013

Former Governor Victor E. Agbayani yesterday belied reports that he has already abandoned Alaminos City Mayor Hernani Braganza saying the Liberal Party, to which Agbayani is provincial chair, remains solidly supportive of Braganza’s candidacy for governor.

“Sinasabi nila sa kabila na iniwan ko na si Nani at iniwan ko na ang LP, hindi totoo yon, binaluktot nila yong sinabi ko. Nanatili tayong  loyal sa ating mga kasama sa LP sa Pangasinan,” he said over Bombo Radyo.
Agbayani clarified that what he said was that he was giving Braganza a free-hand in running his campaign and in orchestrating or coordinating the campaign activities of three groups working to ensure the triumph of the LP candidates in Pangasinan.

“Ang aking binitiwan ay ang pagiging general manager ng Pangasinan Muna Movement at ACL for Vice- Governor Movement. Ngunit nanatili akong chairman ng LP, at lahat ng LP matters including the campaign ay ako pa rin ang hahawak,” Agbayani said.

He also clarified that the national LP hierarchy will support financially its local candidates in the campaign period.
“Ang partido mismo ang pumili kay Braganza at retired Gen. Lomibao bilang kandidato sa pagka-gobernador at bise-gobernador. They are fully supported by President Aquino and Secretary Roxas, the LP president,” said Agbayani.

He called on Pangasinenses to support Braganza and Lomibao saying:
“Sa ating mga kababayan, bawat eleksyon ay napakahalaga sa kasaysayan ng isang probinsiya, sa kasaysayan ng isang bayan. Sana ay piliin natin ang karapat-dapat, ang tunay na nagmamahal sa probinsiya at nag bibigay ng malinis at marangal na serbisyo.”

For his part, Braganza said Pangasinenses can expect a new approach to election campaigning from Team Pangasinani 2013.

“This is a campaign that ensures Pangasinan Muna, Hindi Bulsa Muna and one that veers away from and condemns the traditional ways of the 3Gs (Guns, Goons and Gold) that our opponents have time and again used”, he added

Braganza said his political opponents have once again been caught lying through their teeth.
“Napatunayan po sa tulong ng media na sila ay nagpapakalat ng kasinungalingan ng sabihin nilang ghost projects ang ipinatayo nating unibersidad at pabahay at kasalukuyang tinatapos na ospital, hotel, computer laboratories at E-Kawayan factory at ang airport sa ating lungsod Alaminos,” Braganza said.
“Napatunayan ding nagsisinungaling sila ng aminin ng abogado ni Gubernador Espino, na siyang nasa likod ng lahat ng ito, na walang P4.7 bilyon plunder laban sa akin.”

“Ngayon, napatunayan na namang nagsisinungaling sila sa pagsabi na hindi na tayo sinusuportahan ni former Governor Agbayani.”